Friday, September 2, 2011

Traditional Costumes : Postage Stamps Spain

After the Catalan costume stamps of Spain, we move now from Catalonia to the west to Aragon. Aragon is an autonomous community in Spain, once the medieval kingdom of Aragon. Located in northeastern Spain, the region comprises three provinces from north to south: Huesca, Zaragoza, and Teruel. Aragon's northern province of Huesca borders France and is positioned in the middle of the Pyrenees. Within Spain, the region is flanked by Catalonia on the east, Valencia and Castile-La Mancha to the south, and Castile and León, La Rioja, and Navarre to the west. In north Aragon, the costumes have still very old elements, and is a bit similar to the costumes in neighboring Navarre. Most striking are the (mostly green colored) long skirt and the pleated linen puffy sleeves and high neck cuff. In the other parts of Aragon, the costumes have similarities with the Catalan costumes.
The stamps above show the beautiful antique costumes of Huesca in north Aragon. The first one is from a very large costume series issued from 1967 to 1971. The second stamp is from the "Popular Festivals" series, issued in 2003, for the the Day of the Costume Festival in Ansó.

The next two stamps show the costume of Zaragoza. The first one is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971, and the second one is from a series of Spanish Zarzuela's issued in 1982, with a scene from "Gigantes y Cabezudos" from Spanish composer Manuel Fernandez Caballero.

The next stamp shows the costume of Teruel, and is again from the large costume series of 1967-1971. The last stamp is of the yearly Europa Stamp series, which was about "Folklore and Feasts" in 1981, and shows people dancing the jota, a fast traditional dance from Aragon.

You can find Aragon on this map of Spain (the olive green areas in the north east of Spain):